UCLA men’s tennis matches ruined by untimely rain

Palo Alto rain extinguished any spark kindled within the men’s tennis team, two sets into a Sunday match against Stanford, and No. 2 UCLA concluded its two-part Bay Area trip without a win or loss.

The Bruins responded to a two-hour rain delay to start the match by losing their third consecutive doubles point of the year. A dropped 2-7 tiebreaker by senior Clay Thompson and freshman Joseph Di Giulio coupled with a 3-6 loss by junior Dennis Mkrtchian and sophomore Karue Sell put the Cardinal up 1-0.

No. 38 Stanford built on its hot start by winning four of the first six singles sets, with Thompson and freshman Mackenzie McDonald the only Bruins to avoid defeat. McDonald’s 6-4, 6-1 second-set victory provided the final match point, tying the schools at 1-1.

While the Cardinal swept the first sets on courts four through six, freshmen Gage Brymer and Di Giulio climbed back into their matches with 6-0 and 6-2 second sets on courts four and six, respectively. Di Giulio, who earned the call at court six over Mkrtchian in a last-minute change, supplied the only third-set game decision of the day with a loss. Junior Marcos Giron, UCLA’s no. 2 player, also needed one more game win to even up his match. When play ended, Giron held a 5-2 second-set edge.

Precipitation prevented UCLA and St. Mary’s from playing a single point in Moraga , Calif. on Saturday. Neither the Stanford nor St. Mary’s games will be rescheduled, as the matches bore no implications for Pac-12 standings. UCLA’s remaining scheduled match against Stanford will take place in Los Angeles.

The Bruins figure to avoid the elements entirely this coming week: UCLA’s next match will take place at the National Men’s Team Indoor Championship in Houston.